In recent years, e-mail has become extremely popular. People with a personal computer can send and receive e-mail messages to and from other computer users. In addition, people can use their personal computers to send e-mail to multiple users at once.
E-mail has several advantages over other methods of sending information. It is cheap, since e-mail messages can be sent anywhere in the world over the internet at no incremental cost. E-mail is efficient, because it can be broadcast to a few or to thousands of people quickly and effortlessly. E-mail maintains the quality of the message. The readability and sharpness of the message remains the same no matter how many times it is sent. E-mail is auditable because messages can be saved or logged for easy access. E-mail is private, as long as individuals have their own separate e-mail addresses protected by their own password. Lastly, e-mail is schedule-free because users do not have to coordinate schedules to conduct e-mail correspondence.
Unfortunately, not all people in the world have access to a computer. Some people do not have access to a computer at any time. These people cannot send or receive e-mail via conventional methods. Other people do not have a portable computer that they take with them when they leave their home or office. These people are cut off from their e-mail when they travel. Most people, however, usually have access to a facsimile (fax) machine. Since many conventional computers can send faxes over the telephone lines, conventional computers can send faxes to persons having a fax machine.
One problem with sending a conventional fax, however, is that the recipients at the fax machine cannot send return e-mail, since they do not have access to a computer. While people with a fax machine can send faxes that can be received by a computer, the receiving computer must be active in order to receive the fax. The convenience of e-mail, where a recipient can receive e-mail whether or not he is aware that it is coming is not available for faxes sent to/from a PC.
Another problem with sending a conventional fax from a computer, instead of just sending e-mail, is that the procedures for sending a fax from a computer and for sending e-mail from a computer are different. Thus, a sender at a computer has to remember that a specific recipient needs to be sent a fax (as opposed to e-mail) and to use the correct sending procedure. This is not convenient for the sender.
Another problem with sending a conventional fax from a computer is that sending a fax can incur long distance charges while sending e-mail via a network such as the internet only incurs network usage charges, which do not vary with the amount of data sent.
Moreover, if an entire office at the fax recipient's end has only a single fax machine, it is not possible for a sender to direct the fax to a specific person for private reception. What is needed is a way for owners of fax machines to easily send and receive e-mail that is, at the same time, transparent to persons using a computer to send and receive e-mail.
Many telephonic information systems allow the user to enter alphanumeric characters using the keys of a touchtone telephone. Many users find this method of entering characters confusing. What is needed is a way of allowing the user to enter an alphanumeric character via a touch tone keypad without causing confusion.